Great Literature

Fire. Wind. Pestilence. Earthquake. Drought. Lightning. These are the six Decimates, wielded by sorcerers for both good and evil. But a seventh Decimate exists - the most devastating one of all. For centuries, the realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war, with sorcerers from both sides harnessing the Decimates to rain blood and pain upon their enemy. But, somehow, in some way, the Amikans have discovered and invoked a seventh Decimate, one that strips all lesser sorcery of its power.

Elegant, enigmatic Jay Gatsby yearns for his old love, the beautiful Daisy. But she is married to the insensitive if hugely successful Tom Buchanan, who won’t let her go despite having a mistress himself. In their wealthy haven, these beguiling lives are brought together by the innocent and entranced narrator, Nick – until their decadent deceits spill into violence and tragedy. Part morality tale, part fairy tale, The Great Gatsby is the consummate novel of the Jazz Age. Its tenderness and poetry make it one of the great works of the 20th century.

2084: Global warming has proven worse than even the most dire predictions scientists had made at the turn of the century. No country - and no one - has remained unscathed. Through interviews with scientists, political leaders, and citizens around the globe, this riveting fictional oral history describes in graphic detail the irreversible effects the Great Warming has had on humankind and the planet.

Yanko White Fox is used to expectations. Since he was a small boy, his father has expected him to become a powerful mage and redeem his family’s honor. Even if his heart was elsewhere, Yanko always accepted his responsibility. He’s learned all he can about magic, practiced to become powerful, and fought great evil to free thousands of imprisoned people. But it’s not enough.

Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three, leaving behind an empire that stretched from Greece and Egypt to India.After Alexander's death in 323 B.C. his only direct heirs were two unborn sons and a simpleton half-brother. Every long-simmering faction exploded into the vacuum of power. Wives, distant relatives and generals all vied for the loyalty of the increasingly undisciplined Macedonian army. Most failed and were killed in the attempt.

This inspiring anthology collects enduring and entertaining stories that have enthralled young and old, by the cherished authors whose tales have captivated children for generations. Perfect for the family car trip or at-home listening, these recordings sparkle with the wit and wonder of time-tested storytelling.

At age 11, Gilly is nobody's real kid. If only she could find her beautiful mother, Courtney, and live with her instead of in the ugly foster home where she has just been placed! How could she, the great Gilly Hopkins, known throughout the county for her brilliance and unmanageability, be expected to tolerate Maime Trotter, the fat, nearly illiterate widow who is now her guardian?

At the age of 48, film critic David Denby returned to his alma mater, Columbia University, to re-experience the core humanities courses he had taken as a freshman 30 years before. Facing the question of what he really knows, Denby re-examines the besieged Western classics, ranging from Homer, Sappho, and Sophocles to Dante, Nietzsche, and Woolf. What relevance do the writers and thinkers of the past have to our current life? The answer surprised Denby and will surprise and enlighten his listeners.

In the late summer of 1913, George Sawle brings his Cambridge schoolmate—a handsome, aristocratic young poet named Cecil Valance—to his family’s modest home outside London for the weekend. George is enthralled by Cecil, and soon his sixteen-year-old sister, Daphne, is equally besotted by him and the stories he tells about Corley Court, the country estate he is heir to.

Stranded on an inhospitable planet. Lost in an unknown time. Faced with an unfamiliar galaxy. And a dear friend nearing death. Nathan Scott and the crew of the Aurora must make alliances quickly, or they will lose one of their own.

The year is 1918, the war on the Western Front all but over. An ambitious officer, Lieutenant Henry D'Aulnay-Pradelle, sends two soldiers over the top and then surreptitiously shoots them in the back to incite his men to attack the German lines. When another of D'Aulnay-Pradelle's soldiers, Albert Maillard, reaches the bodies and discovers how they died, the lieutenant shoves him into a shell hole to silence him. Albert is rescued by fellow soldier, the artist Edouard Péricourt, who takes a bullet in the face.

Vol. 1 of a 2-Volume collection of the finest fairytales by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, including The frog king, Rapunzel, Hansel and Grethel, The wolf and the seven little kids, The emperor's new clothes, Thumbelina, The snow queen, and many more.

At the end of The King’s Witch, the first book in Tracy Borman’s Stuart-era trilogy, Frances Gorges was pregnant with the child of her dead lover, Thomas Wintour, executed for his role as a conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Now, in The Devil’s Slave, Frances is compelled to return to the dissolute and dangerous court where she has been suspected of witchcraft.

Often described as the great American novel, The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece of the Jazz Age - has become one of the most beloved and revered books of the 20th century. Narrated by the enigmatic Nick Carraway, the story takes place in the well-to-do section of Long Island, New York, where socialites and millionaires cavort about on their yachts and hydroplanes, oblivious to the day-to-day drudgery of the working-class drones they motor past each day.

Leonildo nasce em cima de um baobá durante uma enchente. É albino, o que antes parece um milagre para o povo de Beira, Moçambique, aos poucos se torna maldição. O menino precisa ser escondido para seu corpo não ser transformado em amuleto. Guilherme ao perceber o que é, foge da Paraíba para São Paulo, depois é expulso da casa da tia religiosa. Espera pela operação de redesignação sexual até que vem a pandemia e seu corpo é interrompido junto ao tempo.

Experience the incredible story of the brave men who tunneled to escape a German prisoner-of-war camp. Listeners will learn about the planners, task leaders, and key players of the escape from Stalag Luft III.

The 1945 novel, The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis is a classic Christian allegorical tale, inspired by a dream. A meditation on good and evil, the book presents a novel idea on the Christian conception of heaven and hell. Drawing on the works of St. Augustine, Dante Alighieri, John Milton, John Bunyan, Emanuel Swedenborg, and Lewis Carroll, the author describes a hell where the gates are locked on the inside.

Janet Dailey's landmark saga of adventure and romance spans 200 years with the rich and dangerous wilds of Alaska as a backdrop. The epic begins with the love of a beautiful Aleut woman for a noble and ambitious Cossack hunter. From their union comes seven generations of a proud breed of native Alaskans, in whose veins flows the blood of the many peoples - Russian, Indian, English, American - who played a part in forging this new land.

Sophisticated wit and intense emotion, religious fervor and erotic sensuality, delight in life’s pleasures and fascination with death, are all to be found in the paradoxical poetry of John Donne. One of the foremost metaphysical poets, Donne’s ingenious metaphors and inspired use of language has earned him affection and reverence in near equal measure to Shakespeare.

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Saul David's comprehensive history, All the King's Men: The British Soldier from the Restoration to Waterloo, read by the actor Sean Barrett. "The British soldier," wrote a Prussian officer who served with Wellington, "is vigorous, well fed, by nature highly brave and intrepid, trained to the most vigorous discipline, and admirably well-armed...